Brassiere



Sept. 20, 1949. s. FLORSHEIM, JR

BRAssIERE Filed March 20 Patented Sept. 20, 1949 BRASSIERE Leonard S. Florsheim, Jr., Chicago, Ill., assignor to Kabo, Inc., a corporation of Illinois Application March 20, 1947, Serial No. 736,066

2 Claims.

vantages of some brassires of the prior art are that the material used to provide support for the breasts is relatively heavy and tends to sag in time, and additionally, due to the use of rubber in making the support, seals a substantial portion of the bust in an air-tight enclosure that induces perspiration. The provision of an absorbent material, such as flannel, in such brassieres is not an adequate solution of the problem of perspiration because the flannel can absorb only the moisture and not the concomitant odor.

In accordance with the present invention the breast supporting pockets of the brassiere or foundation garment are made with a relatively light weight, plastic-coated fabric that is stiff enough to provide adequate support for the wearers breasts, and yet is flexible enough to cause the pockets to be molded to the natural contours of the breasts.

The upper portion of the breast supporting pocket, where no support is required, is made of a single thickness of satin or some similar material that presents a suitable appearance. The lower portions of the pockets which actually support the breasts are made of two layers of fabric. The outermost of such layers may be of the same material .as the upper portion or similar material so the front of the brassiere or garment will have a pleasing appearance. The inner breastsupporting layer of each pocket has a thin film of resinous material or similar plastic material applied to its inner surface, and this layer is secured around the marginal edges to the outer layer so that, in efiect, the inner layer is separate from and largely independent of the outer layer. The plastic coating does not permeate the fabric and therefore does not come into contact with the wearers skin.

In a modified form of the invention the breastsupporting' fabric is made to breathe (capable of readily venting moisture) by the provision of perforations. -It will be understood that when the outer layer is of a reticulated material or an imperforate material provided with perforations, the perforations are preferably very minute, so as not to detract from the appearance of the brassiere.

The structure by which the various results are attained will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a brassire embodying the invention;

. Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a magnified cross sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of a modified form of breast-supporting pocket embodying the present invention, showing the face of the perforated, plastic-coated, stiffening fabric which is brought in contact with the wearer; and

Fig. 5 is a magnified cross sectional view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4.

In the drawings the reference numerals 2 and 3 indicate a pair of breast supporting pockets sewed together at the top portions of their meeting lateral edges, 'as indicated at 4. The lower portions of these lateral edges are spaced apart and joined by a gusset 5 of suitable elastic fabric. The outer lateral edges of thebreast pockets have band portions 6 and 1 secured thereto for encompassing the back of the wearer. Band portion 1 is provided with an elastic extension 8 having eyes 9 secured thereto. Hooks ll! secured to the edge of band portion 6 are adapted to engage eyes 9 to fasten the brassiere around the bust of the wearer. Conventional shoulder straps H and 12 are secured to the upper edges of the brassiere.

The breast supporting pockets are duplicates, so only one will be described. The upper portion l3 of the pocket is formed of any suitable knitted or *woven, textile fabric such as satin, for example. The front or outer side [4 of the lower portion of the pocket maybe made of the same material as upper portion l3 or of other textile material of suitable pleasing appearance. The upper and lower portions of the breast supporting pocket are sewed or otherwise joined together and either subsequently or prior to this operation the lower portion has secured tov its inner side a textile fabric 15 coated on its inner surface only with a film 16 of resinous or similar plastic material.

The plastic material serves to stiffen the fabric surface of fabric and does not permeate the v fabric it cannot come into contact with the wearers skin.

The lower portion of the brassiere, comprising,

the outer layer of satin or similar fabric, and

the inner layer of fabric coated only on its inner surface with resin, is firm enough to furnish' accordance with conventional procedures, as by :roller coatingv from atank containing the coat- -:ing in molten liquidform 'or in solutionform, or by spraying, or otherwise, as desired. The

:film may be formed of' a thermoplastic resinous "material such as polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl alcohol, copolymers of polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl acetate, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene, methyl methacrylate, polystyrene, etc. The copolymer of polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl acetate is a preferred material. Or the film may be formed of a cellulose derivative such as, for example, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate-butyrate, cellulose acetate-propionate, ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, nylon or similar synthetic long chain linear polyamides, etc. A suitable cellulose derivative plastic composition is described in Patent No. 2,128,600. 1

The film may also'be formed from liquid, polyfunctional materials which are capable of, polymerizing to an infusible and insoluble resinous state such as diallyl phthalate, diallyl maleate, di-

allyl fumarate and unsaturated alkyds such .as

' ethylene glycol maleate, ethylene glycol itaconate,

ethylene glycol fumarate and like polymerizable compounds having a plurality of unconjugated carbon to carbon double bonds, either alone or in admixture with monofunctional materials such as styrene, vinyl acetate, methyl methacrylate, polyvinyl alcohol and the like. As is known, such polymerizable materials may be cured to the final,

insoluble state by heat and/ or light, preferably in the presence of polymerization catalysts such as benzoyl peroxide, lauroyl peroxide, methyl ethyl ketone peroxide and the like.

The film may also be formed from other resinous materialswhich' are capable of being converted to the infusible and insoluble state such as furfuryl alcohol, condensation products of fur furyl' alcohol, an 'aminotriazene such as melamine, and an aldehyde such as formaldehyde,

paraformaldehyde, furfural, acetaldehyde, benzaldehyde', and the like, or from equivalent thermosetting resinous materials. Where the film is to be formed from furfuryl alcohol alone the furfuryl alcohol should be preliminarily converted to a thickened state as bycondensation of the furfuryl alcohol with the aid of an acid catalyst orby heat, to prevent undue penetration of the resin precursor into the fabric. 7

The same procedure should be employed where the resin precursor is a polymerizable monofunc- 4 tional monomer such as styrene or vinyl chloride or a polyfunctional monomer such as diallyl phthalate or diallyl maleate. These polymerizable materials can be preliminarily converted to a thickened adhesive state as by heating them in the presence of a polymerization catalyst such as benzoyl peroxide, andthen applied as a surface coating on the fabric. The coating can then be cured to the final state by heat and/or light, in accordance with conventional procedures.

In the modified embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the general structure of the breast supporting pocket is the same as hereinabove described. The only difference between the two embodiments is that the fabrics l5" and 14' are provided with perforations l1 .and I8, respectively, to facilitate breathing of the fabrics. The "perforations in fabric 14' are preferably minute so as not to detract from the appearance of the brassiere or foundation garmeht. Coat'edfabric l 5 'p;isipreferably perforated 'to' 'a greatervextentgthan fabric 14'. As is apparent fromFig. 5, the perforationsin fabric 15' continue on through the plastic film attached thereto, ,"I;

Although two preferred embodiments of the invention have been' described in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description thereof is intendedto' :be illustrative; rather than "restrictive, as many details may be modified or changed Without departing from the spirit or scope. of the invention Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact structures described, except aslimited by the appended claims.

'1; A breast supporting garment comprising a pair of substantially gsimilar breast receiving pockets and-'meansfor supporting the same in position upon the body ofv the person wearing the same;each ofsaidbreast receiving pockets having an upper portion offlexible fabric and a lower portion formed of :two layers of flexible fabric, .an

outer layer and an:,inner-layer, said inner layer being of smaller dimensions than said outer layer and being marginally secured to the said outer layer but otherwise separated therefrom, said inner layer extending over substantially the entire area of the said'outer layer except for the nipple area andthe area'immediately adjacent the bottom of said outer layer,,-and said inner layer having on the innersurface only thereof a flexible plastic coating in the form of a film integrally bonded to the said inner surface; the said plastic film impartingto the saidinner'layer a'limited stiffness whichenables the said plastic-coated inner layer; tosupport the breast and yet permits the same to conform to the natural contour of the'breast.;f-= e 2.. A'breast supporting garment comprising a pair of substantially similar breast receiving pockets and. means for supporting the'same in "position upon thebody of-the person wearing the same, each of said breast receiving pockets having an upper portion offlexible fabric and a lower portion formed of gtw'o layers of flexible'fabric,

an outer;layer and an inner layer, said inner layer beingof smaller dimensions than said outer layer and beingmarginally'secured to the said outer'layer'but otherwise separated therefrom,

said inner; layer extending 'oversubstantially the entirearea of the said-outer layer except for the nipple area and the area immediately adjacent the bottom of saidouter; layer, and said inner 'layerhaving on the inner. surface only thereof a flexible-"plastic-poating in: the form of a film 5 integrally bonded to the said inner surface, the said plastic film imparting to the said inner layer a limited stiffness which enables the said plastic-coated inner layer to support the breast and yet permits the same to conform to the natural contour of the breast, and a plurality of perforations in the said outer layer and the said plastic-coated layer of the lower portions of said breast receiving pockets to permit said layers of fabric to breathe.

LEONARD S. FLORSHEIM, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hollar Nov. 17, 1936 Bergmann Aug. 30, 1938 Bullinger Oct. '7, 1941 Blum June 26, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain June30, 1939 

